Agathis macrophylla
| Agathis macrophylla | ||||||||||||
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Two young trees |
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| Agathis macrophylla | ||||||||||||
| ( Lindl. ) Mast. |
Agathis macrophylla is a species ofthe Araucaria family (Araucariaceae). It occurs in the Fiji Islands , the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu .
description
Agathis macrophylla grows as an evergreen tree that can reach heights of growth of up to 40 meters and diameters of up to one meter at chest height . The unbranched trunk turns into a broad crown , which consists of straight or upwardly directed branches. The branches have an approximately square cross-section. The gray and scaly bark flakes off in irregularly shaped pieces. The inner bark is reddish in color. The smooth twig bark is olive-brown in color.
The leathery, light green to blue-green leaves have a short flattened petiole and are almost opposite to each other on the branches. The leaves of young trees that grow in the undergrowth are 8 to 17 centimeters long and 3 to 6 centimeters wide and have a broad lanceolate shape and a pointed to blunt tip. Older trees have ovate-lanceolate leaves with blunt or rounded tips that are 4 to 8 inches long and 1.5 to 3 inches wide.
The axillary male cones have a 0.3 to 0.7 centimeter long sturdy stem, are between 2.5 and 4.5 centimeters long and between 0.8 and 1.5 centimeters thick. The microsporophylls are scale-like. The spherical female cones are 10 to 13 centimeters thick and stand individually on the branches. They are initially green, sometimes blue-green and turn brown as they ripen. The cones consist of cone scales which are around 3.5 centimeters long and between 3.5 and 4.5 centimeters wide. The seeds have two wings of different sizes and are elongated-egg-shaped with a length of 1.2 to 1.5 centimeters and a width of 0.7 to 0.8 centimeters. The larger of the two seed wings is between 2 and 2.5 centimeters long and between 1 and 1.5 centimeters wide, while the smaller one reaches a width of 0.3 to 0.6 centimeters.
Occurrence and endangerment
The natural range of Agathis macrophylla is on some islands in the southwestern Pacific . There it includes the Fiji islands belonging Kadavu , Vanua Levu and Viti Levu belonging to the Solomon Islands belonging to Santa Cruz Islands Utupua and Vanikoro and to Vanuatu islands belonging Aneityum , Erromango and Tanna .
Agathis macrophylla thrives at altitudes of 75 to 900 meters. It grows from the lowlands to low-lying mountain rainforests. Soils that have formed on volcanic rock , such as basalt , are mostly populated .
Agathis macrophylla is classified as "endangered" in the IUCN Red List . The deforestation of the forests is named as the main endangerment factor, but this has slowed down in the recent past. The total stock is considered to be in decline.
Systematics
The first description as Dammara macrophylla was in 1892 by John Lindley in Royal Horticultural Society , Volume 14, page 197. Maxwell Tylden Masters also introduced the species as Agathis macrophylla in 1892 in Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society , Volume 14, page 197 in the genus Agathis .
use
The white or pale reddish wood is sold under the names "Dakua" or "Vanikoro kauri". It is very suitable for construction work, boat building and the manufacture of furniture. The fragrant resin was primarily used as fuel for lamps in the past. Today it is mainly used as a varnish and as a ceramic glaze . The smoke that is produced when the resin is burned is still used today to dye clothes black.
swell
- Christopher J. Earle: Agathis macrophylla. In: The Gymnosperm Database. www.conifers.org, January 17, 2015, accessed March 31, 2015 (English).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Christopher J. Earle: Agathis macrophylla. In: The Gymnosperm Database. www.conifers.org, January 17, 2015, accessed March 31, 2015 (English).
- ↑ a b c d Agathis macrophylla in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2014 Posted by: A. Farjon, 2012. Accessed March 31, 2015.
- ↑ Agathis macrophylla at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed March 31, 2015.
